The Raptors cleaned a lot of that up after halftime, and their world-destroying bench did their usual damage in a 114-106 win.

Toronto's mascot held aloft a flag that read "BENCH BROSKIS" and sprinted the length of the court to celebrate a trey that put the Raptors up by 12, and helped seal an important 114-106 win in this first-round National Basketball Association playoff series. Miles, who was brought here as a free agent nearly entirely so he could shoot three pointers in big games, shot like a guy who didn't care at all about the Raptors' 17-year, 10-game, series-opener losing streak.

"Absolutely", Klay Thompson said about playing a memorable, statement-making Game 1.

Since rotations tend to shorten in the playoffs, the second unit may spend less time together on the floor than expected, but the Raptors' depth will allow them to field a greater variety of line-ups and make adjustments on the fly. The Wizards were also responsible for the lowest moment that this Raptors team has experienced - a first round sweep in 2015.

The season series between the Blazers and Pelicans wasn't particularly telling because DeMarcus Cousins played in three of the four games before suffering a ruptured Achilles' heel that ended his season.

The Raptors and Wizards split the season series 2-2, typical of a season where Washington played best against quality competition.

Will the mighty Raptors fall at the first hurdle?

It was a dramatic change from past playoffs, when the offence lived or died with whether Lowry and DeRozan made their shots, and when the post-Game 1 media sessions had the air of a funeral.

The Raptors were the better team, and more importantly, they played the same style that made them successful all year.

The total has gone under in four of Toronto's past six games.

The Raps made 16 three-pointers to Washington's eight.

VanVleet is averaging 6.8 points per game, 2.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. But even into the fourth quarter, it was hard to be sure. Philadelphia outscored Miami by 31 points in the second half. Delon Wright came off the bench to chip in 18 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter.

Miles, who hasn't been here for the Game 1 streak, understood the importance of winning. "That's what I thought ... but, you move on". "The first step in the journey", Miles said.

"We knew they were going try to take out DeMar and Kyle, they had 15 assists between them, so we were prepared for that", Casey said. "We did not end the season on a high note, we kind of hobbled into the playoffs".

"That sequence [after the flagrant] was big for us to get the lead back and get a little momentum, a little push", said Lowry. You know? A Finals run would do just that. We had opportunities, several opportunities, to win tonight and close it out but we didn't.

So, using the way those criteria have predicted the outcome of best-of-seven series since 2000, let's rank this year's eight first-round matchups by their chances of producing an upset.